Urgent need for low dose syringes in NYC

Hi,

My 16 year old chocolate point Siamese Alex began insulin therapy today. Since he's blind, got CRF, HCM, IBD, megacolon and can no longer tolerate sub-q fluids due to his heart problem, the vet is taking a very cautious approach. He was diagnosed last Friday and taken off the 1/2 tablet of prednislone he'd been on for several years. Today the vet began with 1 unit of glargine at around 12pm today. Prior to dosing his BG was 398, by 4pm it had fallen to 214, when I picked him up from the vet at 6:30 it was down to 94. When we got home he ate a little of his Royal Canin Renal LP Modified and we hung out together for about an hour watching TV. At 8:30 I tested his blood sugar with the new Bayer Contour Meter I got at the pharmacy (after checking it with the test solution provided) and it said his BG was 19. He was a little lethargic but the vet and I both thought 19 had to be too low so I tested my own blood and got 89 (without having eaten since breakfast). I immediately gave him 4ml of pancake syrup and in about 30 minutes he'd perked up enough to nibble a little of his food on his own. I retested his blood at 9:30pm and the meter showed his BG to be 97. I'll be testing every couple of hours throughout the night and he's gong back to spend the day at the vet tomorrow.

The vet feels that 1 unit may be too much for Alex and has suggested we try 1/2 a unit, but she doesn't have the syringes that can measure that low a dose. Is there anyone in New York City who does have some and could spare a couple until I can get a box from the medical supply company in NJ? Better yet does anyone know where in NYC - specifically Manhattan - I might be able to buy a box?

Thanks,
Robin (and Alex)

 

Robin, I'm in MI and I don't know NY but if there is a Walmart around, they carry their Reli-On brand syringes. You would want the 3/10 cc and I believe they are all now with 1/2 unit markings. They are the only ones I use and I used to have to ask for the 1/2 unit marked ones but last several boxes I've bought they have all come 1/2 marked.

 

Robin,

I'm sending you a PM.

 

Call Duane Reed - and ask if they have any insulin syringes - U100 with 1/2 unit markings.

After all, there is a Duane Reed on every corner practically....

 

Robin,

Any pharmacy should have 3/10 cc syringes with 1/2 unit markings. A lot of human diabetics (me included) use them.

Walmart's Relion are cheap and effective if you have access to Walmart.

Somewhere on this board is a picture of how to dose for less than .5 unit. I will go see if I can find it for you.

Good luck,

Claudia

 

I wonder if Jess (and Earl) might be able to help? She works in NYC as a vet tech, Manhattan area I think? You can try sending her a PM: memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=298 There are some other NYC area members here.

 

I checked what I have at home, and I have 3/10cc syringes but w/o markings ... I gave most of my stuff away by now. And at work we haven't got the syringes w/ 1/2 unit markings either. I was hoping that Heather & Angel's PM had an offer in it.

 

Alex Update (was Urgent need for low dose syringes in NYC)

It has been a rough few days since my last post. After Alex's hypoglycemic episode following his first dose of 1 unit, I was all but certain I was going to have to make the decision to send my little pal to Rainbow Bridge. The plan was to give him a day and let his BG bounce back then try half a unit. I took Tuesday off from work, scoured the NY metro area for the 3/10cc needles and found them at Wal-Mart in White Plains (thanks to Claudia for the tip), so rented a car and I drove up and got them.

I took Alex to the vet Wednesday morning and went to work. The idea was to start him on 1/2 a unit of insulin and watch him throughout the day, but when they tested him before giving insulin his BG was around 225 (don't remember exactly). He spent the day there and they tested him again around lunch time and his BG was around 255, and again when I went to back him up at 5pm and it was 289.

Since his BG wasn't high enough to warrant the risks associated with his reaction to insulin in her judgment, the vet sent us home and told me to bring him back tomorrow and we'd try again. On Thursday morning when I measured his BG my meter said it was 127! I couldn't believe it; I still can't and am afraid this is just too good to be true. My meter is 15-20 points higher than the vet's so I generally deduct that from whatever reading I get on my meter.

So, I spent the yesterday and today monitoring his BG and this is what my actual, uncorrected meter readings were:
5/5 @ 8:54am = 127
5/5 @ 1:58pm = 145
5/5 @ 6:04pm = 151
5/6 @ 1:08pm = 175

It appears his BG is creeping up. Because of all his other problems (Mainly CRF) he's a free feeder and the testing wasn't specifically timed around when he ate. I don't know what to make of what's happening and have no idea where things will go. Is he producing some insulin again (or at least not resistant to it) because we took him of the 1/2 tablet a day of Prednislone? Did the hypoglycemia do something to jump start his pancreas? Is he showing this strange pattern of BG numbers because of his CRF and all his other health problems?

At the moment Alex doesn't need insulin and I hope things will continue that way, but I just don't know what the coming days hold. I love him more than anything in the world.

Robin

 

I lost Alex Yesterday

I had to put Alex my sweet Chocolate Point Siamese to sleep yesterday. I've spent the last 10 months intensively nursing him and it makes me feel just that much emptier. It's been a long hard road and we'd been through so much together. In his 16 year life he'd had several bouts of pyelonephritis, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, IBD, hepatic lipidosis, blindness, arthritis, a urinary blockage, transient, steroid induced diabetes, and since 2005, chronic renal failure with high blood pressure and anemia. You can see photos of Alex on photobucket.com here: http://s186.photobucket.com/albums/x54/cybermeez/cats/

With each illness Alex fought back and recovered. He was such a little trooper - through everything he maintained his sweet, gentle nature. There were so many times where I thought I'd lose him, but each time he would rally. I was really wishing for that to happen again today, but that wish didn't come true.

Alex really began declining last September after he became blocked and needed surgery to remove a bladder stone. I didn't think he'd survive the surgery because of his heart. He got through the operation OK only to get a serious resistant E. coli infection post-operatively from being catheterized. It weakened him and he lost quite a bit of muscle mass during his long recovery.

About a month later we had to take him off sub-q fluids because he began to experience congestive heart failure. His heart could no longer handle the extra fluid load. He compensated well and was able to drink enough on his own to keep him going.

Alex had been on steroids for IBD for several years and in April that caused him to become diabetic. We stopped the steroids and the diabetes went away, but during that illness he lost even more muscle and more of his strength. He was starting to have a hard time getting around.

Looking back, that was the tipping point for him. Shortly after that, Alex began to have blood in his urine again. We put him on antibiotics and it seemed to help. He finished them up last weekend and that was the beginning of the end. He got progressively weaker over the past 2 days. By late last night he no longer had the strength to stand.

Alex was alert and eating like a little horse this morning. Still, I made a 12pm appointment with the vet to see if there was anything we could do to help him get better. The vet wasn't sure what was going on so she ran a full in house blood panel. The results were not good. His BUN and creatinine were up and for the first time his phosphorous and potassium levels were elevated. I'd been through CRF with his half brother Spencer 4 years ago and I knew what the elevated potassium meant. Because of Alex's heart, fluid therapy was no longer a possibility and I was faced with the reality that we were out of options.

The vet felt that within the next 24 hours the toxins in his blood were going to start to make Alex feel really sick. The vet's office is closed tomorrow for the holiday and it would have been cruel to make him go through that until Monday. There was nothing else I could do for him except to let him go peacefully before he felt the full, terrible effects of renal failure. It was awful for me, but the kind thing to do for him. Alex was my best friend. I loved him more than anything in the world and will miss him terribly.

Rest in peace my sweet little meez, I'll see you again someday.

Robin

Alex Lynn
March 31, 1994 - July 3, 2010

 

I'm so sorry to read this.
Safe crossings for (((Alex))) fly free sweet kitty

 

I am so sorry to hear this. You and Alex sure did fight the good fight together and your love for each other is so apparent in your words. He sounds like he was truly a fighter, but sometimes, their little bodies just can't sustain them any more and we have to make the hardest decision ever.
I know that there is a huge, kitty sized hole in your heart right now but I hope in time, your memories will bring you comfort.

Fly free sweet one. You are well loved.

 

So sorry to hear about Alex.
You did everything possible for him.
Sending you hugs and healing strength.

 

I am so sorry. Fly free sweet Alex.

 

I am so sorry for your loss of Alex.

~M

 

I am so sorry for your loss.

May all your wonderful memories of Alex bring you comfort...

...'til you meet again.

 

(((((Robin))))) I am so sorry for your loss. Fly free, dearest Alex. wings_cat

 

I am so very sorry for your loss.
wings_cat

 

((( Robin )))

I'm so sorry, Robin. What a heartwrenching situation, but you were brave and loving for Alex and helped him find his wings. Fly free, sweet Alex.

 

I'm so sorry for your loss. Alex was such a beautiful boy. He knew how much you loved him..............You did everything you could do.

Fly free sweet Alex.